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Mustard Seed Christian Church met for the last two years in the YMCA in Osaka, Japan. The YMCA facilitated the church’s growth to this point, but now a new facility has been found that will allow the church to grow even further! According to lead pastor Jay Greer, the new space is: BIG. There will be enough space to hold 200 people per service. CONVENIENT. The new space will be within walking distance of the 4th busiest station in the world. VISIBLE. Leasing the space comes with a large billboard that faces the road and train lines. AFFORDABLE. While the…

From Nick Parsons, Director of Recruitment Even though I am only 34 years old, I recently experienced the joy of becoming a grandparent. OK…before you start doing math on the ages of my wife and daughter, know that I am talking about being a “church planting grandparent” not a physical grandparent! Let me explain… Seven years ago, I had the joy of helping to start Mustard Seed Christian Church in Nagoya, Japan. Five years ago, this church, planted a new, “daughter church” in Osaka, Japan, also called Mustard Seed, two churches supported by Orchard Group. In the past year, this…

People have heard the name Jesus, but it doesn’t mean anything to them… Jesus is not a part of Japanese Christmas. Even though fewer than 1% of the population in Japan identifies as Christian, Christmas is a widely-celebrated holiday. The day is associated with Santa Claus and presents, sponge cake, Kentucky Fried Chicken (!), and is similar to Valentine’s Day in the United States. Because of the few churches in the country, many Japanese are unfamiliar with actual story behind celebration. This can lead to a confusing clash of images, as seen in the department store window below. photo source unknown Through…

It’s exciting to see the growth of Mustard Seed Christian Church in Osaka, Japan. Matthew and Jessica Whelchel, staff members at MSCC share the joys and challenges of planting a church in Japan. Check out this video of a behind- the -scenes on a Sunday. Keep up the good work, MSCC!

The Osaka area is populated by 17.4 million people. The largest church in Osaka is around 500 people. If we planted a church twice that size, it would be unprecedented. If we planted a church of 17,000 it would be a miracle. And still, a church of 17,000 would impact less than 0.1% of this metropolitan area. Jay Greer, lead planter of Mustard Seed Christian Church in Osaka, Japan There is so much work still to do in Japan! We are grateful for the faithfulness of the MSCC churches who minister there.

What a beautiful baptism picture from Mustard Seed Christian Church in Osaka, Japan. On Sunday, they celebrated their 20th baptism. Acts 16: “So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.” We’re seeing this growth in Japan as well. Happy (International) Monday!

At 1% of the population, Christians are a minority in Japan. However, many Japanese have been exposed to symbols of Christmas. Those symbols can remain a mystery without Christians to share the meaning behind them. This month, Mustard Seed Church in Nagoya threw a family Christmas Party. 25% of the people were visiting for the first time. As the Christmas story was told, a visitor remarked, “I always wondered what that baby had to do with Christmas!” Stephanie Henke, church leader shares, “It never ceases to amaze me that for many people we meet here we could be the very…

Baptism in Nagoya, Japan Praise God, who is building His church in Japan! Did you know that fewer than 1% of the people in Japan identify themselves as Christians? Mustard Seed Christian Church is sharing the gospel, week by week, and seeing lives change as a result. Kiyoe first attended MSCC on Easter Sunday. For the last few weeks, she attended small group studies, where she heard the gospel from fellow Japanese women who are Christians. From those conversations, Kiyoe decided that she too, wanted to confess Jesus as her Savior and be baptized! Please take a moment to pray for Andy…

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